A fundraiser is being held March 23 for Shelly McCandless and her son, Cash, who is battling cancer. (Photo courtesy Kim Kumpf)

For patrons of the Avenue Grill, longtime manager Shelly McCandless is a familiar face. What not all of them know is that since October 2012, she has been dealing with a parent’s worst nightmare: Cash, her 7-year-old son, is battling cancer.

Along with the fear and the tough chemotherapy regimen, bills have piled up.

But mom and son have friends in the hospitality business, and on March 23 some big-hearted folks are holding the Lucky 7 Gala at Sports Authority Field at Mile High to raise money to defray medical expenses.

Food will be provided by the Avenue Grill, Central Bistro and Bar, TAG and Jonesy’s. Twin bartenders Randy and Ryan Layman will sling drinks provided by local distillers, and the live music will be courtesy of Johnny Barber and the Rhythm Razors. The event will run 5 p.m.-9 p.m., and there will be silent and live auctions, plus a costume contest. (Think Mardi Gras vibe.)

A little more about Cash: He’s a spunky kid who loves Jimmy Fallon, knock-knock jokes and root beer milk.

The Denver Art Museum will host its DAM Uncorked wine fundraiser at the museum in April. (Denver Post file photo)

Art and wine, wine and art. The Denver Art Museum will host its DAM Uncorked wine event in April.

It’s a two-evening fundraising affair for the museum. An April 11 wine tasting will give fans of the grape a chance to choose from among 300 wines, and sample hors d’oeuvres courtesy Kevin Taylor Catering. The event runs 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Tickets are $90 for museum members, $125 for non-members and $45 for designated drivers.

An April 12 dinner and auction includes live and silent auctions and a sit-down repast. Guests can bid on rare wines, original artworks, access to private art collections, tours with DAM curators and travel packages. Tickets start at $350 apiece and go up — and we mean up. (A supporting table for 10 goes for $4,000, while a partner table for 10 goes for $7,500.)

Reservations are needed for the dinner and auction, which is known to sell out early. For tables or individual tickets, contact Gravely Wilson at gwilson@denverartmuseum.org or 720-913-0034.

Animals such as this orphaned raccoon will benefit from a fundraising dinner at Jill’s Restaurant for the Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. (Photo courtesy of the center.)

Jill’s Restaurant in Boulder will host a seven-course vegan fundraiser on Feb. 4 to benefit the Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The nonprofit organization focuses on rehabbing and releasing orphaned, injured and ailing wildlife. See the young raccoon in the photograph to the left? That’s one of the critters that will be helped.

The dinner will be helmed by Laurent Mechin, executive chef at the restaurant in the St. Julien Hotel at 900 Walnut St. (You can make reservations by calling 720-406-7399.) At $54.95 per seat, the menu sounds tempting. Take a gander at the lineup:

Charlie Ayers of California’s Calafia Cafe will be one of the featured chefs at a Rock the Earth benefit at Coohills. (Photo courtesy of Coohills)

Coohills restaurant in LoDo is hosting a blowout fundraiser for Rock the Earth, a nonprofit organization that bridges the gap between the music industry and its fans and advocates of a sustainable planet.

The event will feature six courses of locally sourced cuisine, local brews (courtesy Great Divide Brewing Co.) and wines (donated by Infinite Monkey Theorem) and cocktails from Roundhouse Spirits . Denver’s own DJ Russo will spin, and there will be a silent auction of music memorabilia, art and donations from area business.

The shindig runs 6-9:30 p.m., and is limited to 150 people. Tickets are $85 per person, or $125 at the door, if they’re still available.

More information about reserving and paying for tickets can be found at rocktheearth.org.

The event will include local food trucks and an outdoor bar featuring beer from Breckenridge Brewery, plus wine and other beverages, with proceeds from food and beverage sales going to disaster assistance funds. The happy hour runs 5 p.m.-7 p.m., followed by outdoor dining on the square at 7 p.m. And for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John fans, there will be a 7:30 p.m. screening of “Grease” on a giant screen.

Reservations are still available at such participating restaurants as The Capital Grille, Corridor 44, Ocean Prime, TAG, Rioja, Bistro Vendome, Tamayo, Ted’s and Tom’s Urban 24.

Larimer Street will be closed all day Sept. 26 between 14th and 15th streets to set up for the event. A suggested $10 donation will also be donated to flood relief funds.

“To lift up the heavy hearts and minds of our community, the Margarita at Pine Creek will be hosting a fundraiser to benefit the relief of the Black Forest Fire Victims on Thursday, June 20 from 6-8:30 p.m. on our patio (rain or shine). Your $20 donation will go to help recover, rebuild, and restore Black Forest (via the Pikes Peak Community Foundation Emergency Relief Fund) and in turn we’ll offer some delicious appetizers throughout the evening, your first round of a margarita, beer, wine or cocktail and live music from The Other Band and The Acme Bluegrass Band. Come on out to support your of friends and family and start the recovery the beloved Black Forest Community! Please let us know you’re coming by calling 719-598-8667 or email us at Themargarita@att.net.”

I called to confirm and to ask permission to use the photo above. Owner Pati Burleson answered the phone and said that it was her partner, chef Eric Viedt’s idea. “Some of us are celebrating just being alive. We are really concerned about some of the small rental houses in the forest, so Eric decided he wanted to do this fundraiser and by golly it’s gonna be!”

Then she tells me this:

“My house burned down. But we’re going to be fine.”

Wait a minute, your house burned down and you are at work, answering the phone?Read more…

Drop $75 and you can eat that and more at Plates for the Peak, a fundraiser for Urban Peak, a nonprofit that helps homeless kids. Chefs from Ace, Steuben’s and Vesta will work the saute pans on the Oct. 1 annual event.

The menu looks like fun, and the beneficiary needs your generosity. But with a menu like this, let’s define the word generosity loosely. You will feast and have fun. Others will gain. There is win. There is more win.

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Chef Hugh Acheson will judge a Top Chef-style contest to benefit Douglas County libraries. (File photo)

Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson will bring a touch of the South to the area on Sept. 29 to help raise money for Douglas County libraries. The big event: A Top Chef-style contest between three local chefs at the Parker Arts Culture and Events Center at 20000 Pikes Peak Ave. in Parker.

Acheson, who this year won a coveted James Beard Award as the best chef in the Southeast and was a contestant in the 2011 Top Chef Masters series, is currently a judge on the Top Chef TV show. The chef-partner in three Georgia restaurants, Five and Ten and the National in Athens, plus Empire State South in Atlanta, he is also author of “New Turns in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen.Read more…

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Here’s what makes this event different: Instead of standing around all evening going from buffet station to drinks station, tasting bite after bite from dozens of different chefs and stuffing yourself with so many disparate flavors and ingredients that you can’t remember a thing you’ve eaten by the time you roll into your driveway at home, you’ll get one chef cooking your meal at your table.

Here’s the deal: For $65, you get to sample food from a dozen participating restaurants. There’s an open bar, too. All proceeds go to the Governor’s Colorado Fire Relief Fund, which supports volunteer fire departments, disaster agencies and other organizations that have been saddled with unexpected expenses from the fires.